Do-it-yourself detox kits are all the rage – but they’re pricey and who knows whether they work. Instead of forking over big bucks for a detox program, learn how to do it yourself naturally! Lifescript Alternative Medicine Expert Dr. Julian Whitaker shares simple, at-home tips to rid your body of toxins. Plus, test your supplement IQ with our quiz…

Been thinking about plopping down $35-$75 for one of those body-cleansing kits being hawked on the Internet or at your local health food store? Not so fast.

Even though some of these products include herbs and other nutrients for liver support, most consist of little more than laxatives and fiber to clean out the colon. They’re designed to be used for about a month.

My approach is a little different. Instead of spending a month trying to eliminate toxins from your body, I believe you should take daily measures to support your liver, intestinal tract, kidneys, skin and lungs. These organs are your body’s natural detox systems. They’re constantly neutralizing and eliminating environmental toxins, as well as the waste products of normal metabolism.

These tips will keep your body’s natural detoxifiers working at peak performance:

1. Up your intake of antioxidants. Start with foods rich in glutathione peroxidase (GPx), an antioxidant enzyme found in almost all fruits and vegetables in varying amounts. Once the free-radical fighter enter your body’s cells, it becomes one of its most critical detoxification agents.

This antioxidant fights fat-soluble toxins such as pesticides, heavy metals and solvents by converting them into water-soluble forms that can be eliminated by the kidneys.

High levels of glutathione are often found in the lungs, where it combats the toxins in smoke, smog and other airborne pollutants. High concentrations of glutathione are also found in the liver.

Raw fruits and vegetables are excellent GPx sources, particularly avocados and asparagus. It’s also a good idea to eat cruciferous vegetables, such as broccoli, Brussels sprouts and kale. They contain GPx and high levels of cysteine, an amino acid that the liver uses to synthesize glutathione.

The rough dietary fiber causes the intestinal muscles to contract and push food through your system faster. Fiber also helps rid your body of waste. As it moves through the gut, it binds with water, which adds weight and increases the amount of bacteria in the stool.

So besides eating raw fruits and vegetables for their antioxidant properties, eat them because they’re fiber-rich. Avocado, blackberries, artichokes, squash, and sweet potatoes are among the most fiber-packed fruits and veggies.

Here are some more great fiber sources:

Beans

Whole-grain bread and pasta

Barley

Bran flakes

Oatmeal

Flax seeds

Soynuts

For good measure, consider taking a supplemental fiber, such as psyllium, glucomannan or freshly ground flaxseed.

A daily dose of probiotics (found in yogurt ) is another good way to promote regular bowel movements.

3. Drink 8 cups of water a day. All effective detox efforts involve drinking at least eight glasses of purified water every day. Water helps the kidneys filter metabolic waste products and excrete them in urine. Plus, water:

Makes you feel fuller

Metabolizes stored fat

Prevents fluid retention

Regulates body temperature

Provides lubrication for joints

Helps blood flow

Regulates blood pressure

Keeps body systems functioning properly

Keeps skin elastic

In fact, water is so important that if you don’t drink enough, your body will use the little it has to support life-sustaining functions, such as maintaining blood pressure — at the expense of flushing out toxins. So be sure to stay hydrated!

4. Break a sweat.Exercise is another great detoxifier. That’s because both the lungs and lymph – the clear watery fluid flowing through the lymphatic system that bathes and nourishes the tissues of the body – are involved in detoxification; exercise encourages deep breathing and gets the lymph moving.

Even better, exercise is an ideal way to work up a sweat, which helps eliminate toxic chemicals your body stores in fat under the skin.

If you’ve ever been around a heavy smoker or drinker, you understand. They reek of nicotine or alcohol — it literally pours out of their skin in sweat.

Exercising at a moderate level every day for 30 minutes is a good goal. But if your activity level is limited, try the sauna. On an average day, your eccrine glands, which produce the odorless watery perspiration that cools you down, put out about a quart of sweat.

When you spend time in a sauna, they pump out that much in 15 minutes.

Several researchers have looked at the effects of a sauna on the body’s toxic burden — including a study on 9/11 rescue workers with chronic health problems — and the results have been positive, according to studies published by the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

5. Take supplements.Targeted nutrients can ensure that your body has enough raw materials to help the liver purge toxins from your body. The liver is not only responsible for filtering toxins from your blood, but it must also convert them into safer substances that can then be eliminated.

As with many metabolic activities, a potentially harmful side effect of detoxification is the production of massive amounts of free radicals. Normally, this isn’t a problem because your body’s antioxidant defenses (particularly glutathione) step up to neutralize free radicals and protect your liver.

But when levels of glutathione and other antioxidants are inadequate, free radicals can get the upper hand and damage the liver.

I recommend a high-potency daily multivitamin and mineral supplement containing:

At least 1,500 mg vitamin C

200 mcg selenium

Copper

Zinc

Magnesium

B-complex vitamins and other antioxidants.

Vitamin C and selenium are particularly important because they help your body produce and increase stores of glutathione.

A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that taking just 500 mg of vitamin C every day increases red blood cell glutathione stores nearly 50%.

50 mg alpha lipoic acid and 600-1,500 mg N-acetyl-cysteine, two supplements that aid in the production of glutathione and other antioxidants.

Toxins pose a “hidden” threat to your health. And even if you’re vigilant about your health, you can’t entirely escape the toxicity of our world. However, these tips will go a long way toward helping your natural detoxification processes run smoothly.

What’s Your Supplement IQ?You know that taking calcium supplements can help build strong bones when you don't eat enough dairy foods, but do you really know all that you should about supplements? Test your IQ with this supplement quiz.

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